Thursday, March 15, 2012

wet N wild Juicy Lip Balm in Raspberry - Review and Swatches

2011 seemed to be all about tinted lip balms. There were sheerer ones, like the Maybelline Baby Lips, and super-pigmented ones, like the Revlon Lip Butters. I adore tinted lip balms, because they combine the two most important things that a lip product can have - color and hydration. So of course, these wet N wild Juicy Lip Balms seemed like they'd be perfect for me.

To start, the packaging on these is cute, although it is a little frustrating that the product doesn't screw all the way down (which can cause the cap to scratch the edge of the balm when you're putting it away). The actual tube is really big and chunky, so it's not really a balm that you can just toss in your pocket, but I do like the fact that it doesn't get lost in your purse if you just toss it in there.

In terms of the actual product, this balm definitely feels hydrating, although I wouldn't say it has any special hydrating properties (not that it claims to or anything). You do get a decent tint with this--I'd say it's pretty comparable to some sheer lip glosses out there, but more hydrating. It's a bright pink-raspberry shade, and on the lips it looks pretty much like how you'd expect it to look in the tube--no surprises here. The one major problem that I have with this is the fact that is has a strange, bitter taste. You would think that it would have a raspberry flavor considering it's a juicy balm and the name is raspberry, but instead it just tastes bad. I still wear this on the days that I want a lot of hydration as well as some color, and just suffer through the taste because I actually like the tint that it gives my lips. But if you are at all sensitive to flavors in your lip products, especially bitter ones, do not buy this.

Rating: 2/5Recommendation: I can't really recommend this to anyone unless you know that bad tastes in your lip products won't bother you. I personally like the color and hydration that I get from this balm, but there are so many better-tasting products out there that I find myself reaching for this very rarely. If you want a similar balm, try one of the tinted Maybelline Baby Lips balms instead.

I recently picked up this one and the strawberry one (but I love raspberry-anything). The tint and hydration is awesome on both - the raspberry one especially - but only the raspberry one has a weird flavor. There really is no way to describe it - it just tastes gross. It smells good, but once on the lips I end up with the gross flavor in my mouth... bitter? Ugh. I have yet to try the cherry/watermelon ones - I really want to!